Art Institute of Chicago, 1

Our one day visit to the Art Institute back in July convinced us more visits would be in order, and so December finds us back in the Windy (also very cold, icy) City taking in more of its great art and architecture. On this day, December 8th, we did a couple of the staff-led tours, each followed by some independent wandering on our own. 

Bernat Martorell, Saint George and the Dragon, 1435,

tempera on panel; always good to start in the 15th century

Late 17th century German glass showing the Ages of Man

Sometimes the wandering goes weird...here in the arms 
and armor section, weirdest late Medieval headgear yet

And then comes the Spider Helmet, late 17th; the
retractable bars help curb the face-slashing that light
cavalry-persons are so vulnerable to...

Yes! Funny faces!

Mid-19th century French cigar cabinet; neo-Gothic

Glass chair, late 19th, English, made for Indian clients

Marc Chagall, Birth, 1911...on another tour, now in the modern
section of the museum

Ditto, Francis Picabia, Ecclesiastic, earlier 20th; interesting, must
learn more

Juan Gris' Portrait of Picasso, 1912; the resemblance is amazing 

Robert Delunnay, Champs de Mars: The Red Tower, 1911, 1923

Chagall, The Praying Jew, 1923

Picasso, Man with a Pipe, 1915

Modigliani, Madame Pompadour, 1915

Picasso, The Old Guitarist, 1904

Picasso, Mother and Child, 1921

Picasso, Nude Under a Pine Tree, 1959...very late Picasso, a style
reminiscent of much earlier works

The views from museums are often of interest, too

We were beginning to wonder whether the AIC had any Dalis,
then rounded a corner to find a couple rooms of him and his
ilk...here Untitled, 1939

Venus de Milo with Drawers, 1936, 1962

A Chemist Lifting with Extreme Precaution the Cuticle of a Grand Piano,
1937; really tied things together for me

Giorgio de Chirico, The Philosopher's Conquest, 1913-14

#114,674,890

Dali, The Anthropomorphic Tower, 1931

Magritte, On the Threshold of Liberty, 1937

Non-anthropomorphic Towers (?)

Initial Chicago Scenes

After Orlando, our travels took us back to Cary for an extended session of packing up in advance of our mid-January move to Winter Garden. Three more previously-scheduled trips would occur before then, however, the first being a visit in Chicago with college friends Tawana and Wes and condo-sitting for a couple weeks. Chicago was having its worst beginning of winter snow accumulation since 1978, when it had its worst winter ever in recorded history. I guess we're just lucky, although as Vicki observed, this will help toughen us up for a week of snowmobiling in Yellowstone in early January. Before moving to Florida. This next month will probably finish off what's left of our circadian rhythms. 

Snowy Indiana

With temps in the teens and below there's not much outdoor dining
on North Lincoln Ave.

Track not taken

View from the Art Institute to Millennium Park,
the Bean, and the Pritzker Pavilion; Frank Gehry, the
great architect, died just a few days ago 

On Michigan Ave.

The green line train arrives

Rare ventral view of the L

Looking up in the old Marshall Field building (now Macy's);
OK, it's not the Galeries Lafayette; but there are some treasures,
as we'll see in a later post

Most unusual Chase bank sign we've seen

'Tis the season

Sic transit, Gloria...the beautiful old Carson Prie Scott building (1899),
now a Target

Board of Trade building

The Christmas Train arrives

Santa himself aboard

The Beach Boys At EPCOT

It so happened that the latest Beach Boys tour included a stop at Disney World, near the end of our stay in Orlando. We are of that vintage and would not have missed the show. Mike Love and Bruce Johnston are the surviving members, now well into their 80s.

Mike Love, who wrote most of the lyrics

Bruce Johnston